NCYU Sweeps Three Awards at International ICT Innovative Services Contest The final of the International ICT Innovative Services Contest 2016 – now in its 21st year – took place recently. Advised by the National Chiayi University Vice President Prof. Chyung Ay, Huang Yi-Ting, Hong Zi-Ting, Xu Hui-Zhen and other seniors of the Department of Biomechatronic Engineering placed second in the category of Information Technology Applications on the project themed “Study on the Design of Sleep Brainwave Headphones.” Advised by Associate Prof. Zhang Hong-Yi, senior students Hong Ming-Ze, Wei Zhi-Hong, Huang Yu-Ru and Zheng Ming-Jia, and graduate student Wu Zhi-Lin from the Department of Management Information Systems came in third place in the category of campus 4G mobile application services with “Campus Flying Police.” Li Ting-Wei, Wei Ming-Yi, Chen Jian-Lin and Xu Xin-Yuan, seniors of the Department of Management Information Systems, attained an honorable mention in the category of entrepreneurial R & D results with “Eye Pressure Relief.”

According to Vice President Prof. Chyung Ay, a sleep headphone is designed with the look of a lightweight headset and can be used to play and select songs, and monitor focus on relaxation through wireless Bluetooth signal transmission. It serves as a wireless headphone that is easy to use during exercise. It can also adjust the volume by detecting brainwaves of the user and will automatically turn off the music upon signs of sleep to reduce ear pressure from listening to music for an extended period of time. In the future, the installation of anti-noise devices inside the headset is expected to give you the best music listening experience.

Associate Prof. Zhang indicated that “Campus Flying Police” is inspired by the Ministry of Education (MOE)’s friendly campus program in 2014, which urged educational institutions to replace hall walls with hedges or low walls. Despite the advantages of encouraging good interaction with the community, it also increases the risk of intrusion into the campus. Interviews have been carried out with teachers in elementary and junior high schools to evaluate the current security maintenance plans and the real needs of pertinent teachers. With these in mind, they devised the campus security patrol system that utilizes an unmanned aerial vehicle, which has become popular these years. The system can ensure security in different corners of the campus where there is no monitor, and enhance campus safety since the use of drones allows a substantial increase in patrol frequency, expansion of the scope of patrol, and acceleration of the response to campus emergencies.

Associate Prof. Zhang stressed that the adoption of drones enables faster arrival at the scene than humans when emergencies occur. By capturing close-up images of the scene and broadcasting the images to the mobile phones via a certain app, it allows security maintenance teachers on campus to better evaluate unexpected conditions, and thus quickly deal with the crisis. The drones can also help deter crimes through alarms, thus preventing students from harm. An integration of the smart bracelet technology system in the future would make the “Campus Flying Police” more accessible, comprehensive, and adaptable for campus use.

Another award-winning team advised by Associate Prof. Zhang, “Eye Pressure Relief” drew inspiration from the common modern ways to relieve stress, such as doing exercises, surfing the Internet, and, above all, listening to music, which is most desired by office workers. Effectiveness of various types of music therapy has been widely discussed since a relationship between the alpha wave and stress had been discovered by brainwave studies at the end of the 19th century. In addition, the virtual reality 3D effect in recent years creates a feast for the eye. The team, therefore, hoped to build a virtual-reality world that brings pleasure and relief to the mind and body, and a relaxed ambience, complete with relaxing music, that brings relief to both auditory and visual senses.

According to the university, nearly 360 teams of over 2,000 teachers and students from more than a hundred universities, colleges, and senior high and vocational schools from around the country competed in the contest this year. There were also 19 teams comprised of contestants from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Macau and other Asia Pacific countries or regions, as well as the Mainland China, making the contest the most representative competition platform of international significance in Taiwan. The achievement that the NCYU teams attained three prizes among the 282 teams from diverse colleges and universities that made it to the final bore witness to NCYU’s dedication to cultivating professionals with innovative and diverse thinking.